Jay Williams Says His Bulls Teammates Got High Before Games

The New York Times recently did a wonderful profile on former Bulls guard and current ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams.

In it Williams talked about his struggles to reclaim his life after a horrifying motorcycle accident, and all the highs and lows he went through.

Williams also talked about life in the NBA, and some of the perils he faced as a pro. Per the Big Lead, Williams indicated that some of his Bulls teammates would smoke weed before games 2002-2003, which was his rookie season.

“I didn’t know how to handle it at first,” Williams said. “I didn’t know how to be around it. Guys were on the bench, trying to kick it to girls in the stands, having ball boys run over. I mean, some guys were high.”

Asked to clarify, Williams said: “There were guys smoking weed before games. Guys asking in the middle of the game, ‘Do you smell popcorn?’ ”

He noticed the nervous laughter around the kitchen table. “You think I’m playing,” Williams said. “Can you imagine! Guys are gambling. They’re playing dice in the back of the plane for money. Like, we just lost by 30 tonight! And we’ve got a game tomorrow! It bugged me out.”

Nothing Williams said was surprising, just hilarious how guys on bad teams in pro sports could care less when they are getting paid.